Stop Press: big-city living is Bad For You
Commuters on Britain's rush-hour roads and railways suffer greater anxiety than fighter pilots or riot police facing angry mobs of protesters, says research published yesterday which suggests that many travellers retreat into a "light hypnotic trance" as a defence mechanism.
Psychologists found travellers tackling peak-hour congestion experienced heart rates as high as 145 beats per minute, compared with an "at rest" rate of 65 for a healthy young adult.